McCARTHY: Hoosiers’ dream still lives in March Madness

From the very moment moviegoers watched Jimmy Chitwood surge around the picket fence and knock down the midrange jumper to put away the state championship for Hickory High, basketball was seemingly forever cemented as the sport of underdog stories within popular culture. The classic film “Hoosiers,” however, is actually rooted in an improbable true story that proves the sport held that title long before Gene Hackman signed on for the role of fictional coach Norman Dale.

For many years, Indiana was one of a few states that adhered to a single state tournament formula for basketball. This meant that all schools, no matter their size or enrollment, competed for one state title.

While this format undoubtedly stacked the odds against the smaller, more rural programs, it also allowed for the emergence of David versus Goliath storylines usually reserved for works of fiction. In 1954, one of these real-life screenplays came forward in the form of the team that would serve as the historical basis for Hickory High.

The town of Milan, Ind. is a tiny hamlet tucked away in the southeastern corner of the Hoosier state. Despite a paltry enrollment of 161 students, the town had uncharacteristically high hopes for its high school basketball program heading into the 1953-54 season.

While some of this bluster was based on the previous year’s surprising semifinal appearance, most of it had been built upon the mystique that surrounded its star player. Schools such as Milan had made noise in state tournaments prior, but none had actually taken the title. Those towns, the rabid locals claimed, did not have Bobby Plump.

While the factual record states that there was no seminal town hall moment or will he/won’t he drama leading up to his senior year, Bobby Plump was still every bit the real-life Jimmy Chitwood. Just as Hickory had with its aloof hero, Milan rode Plump to one unlikely win after another, ultimately advancing to the now immortalized championship showdown against urban powerhouse Muncie-Central.

Despite the vast difference in size and stature, Milan held tight, keeping the score close throughout. Late in the second half, with the game tied, Plump dribbled precious minutes off the clock. Then, just like his big screen counterpart, he calmly cut to his right, planted and sunk the biggest shot in the history of high school basketball.

While Bobby Plump solidified his basketball legacy as a mythical figure by winning the 1954 state championship, his career did not end at Milan. In fact, fittingly, he continued making memories in the same place where he had immortalized his name.

Butler Fieldhouse was not only the annual site of the Indiana state tournament, but was also the home arena of Butler University. In what can only be seen as a karmic ending to a fate-driven story, Plump went on to star for the Bulldogs over the course of a sterling four-year career at Butler.

In 1997, when the Indiana High School Athletic Association decided to end the one-class tournament system in favor of one that divided the state into four classes, the hypothetical dream died.

Not surprisingly, many people – Plump among them – were distraught. In their minds, the opportunity for David to slay Goliath or for Jimmy Chitwood to be reincarnated was no longer possible. Thankfully, some years later, they were reminded that that is not the case.

In 2010, Bobby Plump’s alma mater restored his faith in the real life underdog story. Led by young coach Brad Stevens and Indiana-born swingman Gordon Hayward, the modern day Butler Bulldogs made an improbable run through the national tournament. After a two-point victory over Michigan State University in the Final Four, it faced traditional powerhouse Duke University in the National Championship.

With the surviving members of the 1954 Milan team in attendance, including Plump, Butler undoubtedly heard all the Hoosiers’ comparisons. All it could do was hope to enjoy the same outcome. Hanging tight throughout, Butler faced a two-point deficit with seconds remaining. While they got the ball into Hayward’s hands for the last look, his half-court heave missed by inches. To the dismay of everyone outside of Durham, N.C., he was no Bobby Plump.

The following year, Butler yet again made a surprising appearance in the championship game, this time losing painfully by double digits to a talent-laden University of Connecticut team. Despite the many Hickory and Milan comparisons, and two chances, Butler did not deliver a championship and its accompanying storybook ending.

In many ways, however, this did not matter. While it did not return to Indianapolis with a trophy and a title, Butler did remind everyone that in a one-class tournament, dreams are tangible. Like the Indiana state tournament before it, the NCAA tournament offers limitless opportunities.

In a few weeks, we will undoubtedly be in the midst of yet another captivating March Madness run being made by some small, unheralded and largely unknown school. While it looks like it won’t be Butler this year, there will be a team that beats the odds and attempts to embrace the Milan High mantle.

History tells us that much is certain. What remains to be seen, however, is if they have the player capable of knocking down that legend-making shot. Players like Jimmy Chitwood usually only exist on the big screen. But if you take a trip to Indianapolis, Bobby Plump may tell you otherwise.